Snippets of time

The measurement of time has baffled many and continues to do so as the millenium ticks away towards the age of nano technology.

One pico second is one twentieth of a second. This is about the shortest period of time we can currently measure accurately. One nano second is one billionth of a second. One milli second is one thousandth of a second. One centi second is one hundredth of a second. One deci second is one tenth of a second.

If the sun stops shining suddenly, it would take eight minutes for people on earth to be aware of the fact.

In the modern calender the abbreviation BCstands for Before Christ and ADfor Anno Domini.

Indian Astronomer Brahmagupta estimated that circumference of earth was 5,000 Yojanas. Each Yojana is 7.2 kilometres. Calculating on this basis gives 36,000 kilometres, which is close to the actual circumference.

In the fifth century, Aryabahatta discovered that the sun is the centre of the solar system. It is the source of moonlight. Earth rotated and stars were stationary. This discovery was almost 1,000 years ahead of Galileo.

Since AD, time has slowed down by 10 seconds. This is because every century the speed of earth’s rotation slows down by about half-a-second.

The largest horizontal sundial is at Jaipur. It is 90 feet tall.  Until recently, more than 50 different date systems were being followed in the country. Though the government set-up an Indian National Calender in 1957, many of these systems continued to be used today for religious purpose.